Tikaani
Summary Tikaani is a sixteen year old boy from the Water tribe with autism. Uses a slate board to communicate. Was introduced in 2009 in October. Still in play Biography There are many stories attached to Tikaani son of Tiqtuk. His mother Agna was having difficult pregnancy and said to made a deal with the Ocean god Tui in order to have a safe birth. His father Tiqtuk, was solider for Arnook and prayed for a son, to carry on his dynasty as a warrior. Tikaani was born on an April morning, the birth itself was uneventful. However Agna during and after the pregnancy was growing increasingly stressed and depressed. Her older sister who raised two sons and a daughter saw this and worried for her sister. Things did not get better when Tikaani was around nine months old and as Hanai watched her sister go into long tirades on how stressed she was on raising Tikaani's sister and now she tired she was. Hanai worried as she noticed that Tikaani wasn't behaving like most infants. He rarely kept eye contact when nursed and he wasn't crying as much. He seemed to focus on the window near his cradle as well. Agna also noticed that her son was also delayed. Hanai grew worried for her sister and for her nephew. At a year and three months, seemed to sit and stare for long periods of time. He also did not meet many milestones like a normal child, had a hard time crawling and did not react at all to his name being called. Agna would rave that her son was cursed. She would complain to her sister that 'Tui stole him.' Hanai's heart sank when Tikaani's father, worried more for his wife than child as well as disappointed that his son was far from normal; said that Tikaani would live a useless life, and for their sake and his, should be returned to the god Tui. Hanai stepped in. She declares no life is useless and since she had raised three before and lived a rather simple life with her husband and younger brother. She would raise Tikaani. Tikaani since then has lived with his aunt since he was fifteen months old. Since then, Hanai noticed more "Odd manners" from Tikaani. He wouldn't talk and would rock for hours. He also would a lot of repetitive behaviors as well as making odd noises including grunts, shrieking, screaming and clicking. He learned at a glaciers pace. It took him two years to learn to wear the belled choker without screaming at the sound. It took him until he was fourteen to be able to wear a normal fundoshi in the day. Despite this Hanai noticed that Tikaani did learn. Slowly but he did learn. Fortunately she had the patience to teach him. Maka her husband and Amana her brother had have been supportive. At first Maka thought this was a pointless endeavor and was worried that his wife would go insane like her sister. Even though there were nights Hanai would scream and rage at something Tikaani did wrong, she had to realize that he didn't understand what he was doing or he was doing it for reason beyond her. Still her husband and brother stood by her and Tikaani. Tikaani reaches adolescence without much ado. He is starting to look much like his father and seems even to have his his temper and strong will. He can be violent and aggressive sometimes thanks to surge of testosterone and a lack of understand plus frustration of the world. He often frightens Hanai with violent outbursts. Hanai doesn't want much from Tikaani as she helps him adjust to a world not meant for him. She was ecstatic however when Tikaani said his first words. "More Rice." with this encouragement Hanai strived to teach him more words. So far he could say a few words or repeat others, however to Hanai's delight, next to "More rice" is "Auntie". His mother and father rarely get involved anymore, however his sister who recently got engaged and is a water healer; hopes to form a relationship with Tikaani. In Tikaani's eyes, the world is a strange and unpredictable. Thriving on routine and patterns, Tikaani's environment is constantly overwhelming. He often feels "liquid" in his world, unstable and craves some form solidarity in a world that seems to be of constant change and chaos. His reactive behaviors is how he deals with the overflow of information and how he processes. If something is bother him he will chew on his hair on hands, if he is gleeful, he would bounce and flap his hands. While his behavior may seem irrational and bizarre they make perfect sense to Tikaani. Rocking, bouncing on toes and finger waving all help his mind to tell where his body is in space, as he has hard time processing where is. It explains a lot of his coordination problems as a child and issues with dexterity and motor control. Tikaani sees things that people miss, he is observant and though it may seem he is unaware of his world he can remember many details. Including the day his father and mother left him at his aunts. This is a source of frustration for Tikaani, he suffers from abandonment issues because of this and is clingy in some instances. He is also aware of his disability, and the discrimination he faces. He understand that his disability is part of his identity and while he may accept it. He still feels frustration and envy among the typical tribe-folk. He has a weird notion if he could bend like Maka and Amana he would be treated better, the fact he isn't a bender is more painful than the fact he neuro-atypical. The ocean seems to be big fixation for Tikaani as well as tattoos, he often will spend moments at a time, touching Rahmet's tattoos and running along the beach. Because of Tikaani's energy, Hanai takes Tikaani down to the rocky half-frozen shore to run around for a hour. Tikaani enjoys the ocean and seems to feel "at home" around it. Maybe it's the only place where isn't an sensory hurricane for him like home and the market place. Tikaani wishes to have a purpose in this world. To be valuable in some form. All his life he be regarded by the superstitious as a curse and by the more skeptic as a tragedy. He wishes to be part of something bigger than him to be part of something. He has interest in learning how to read and wants to use written words to communicate more so that the ever troubling speech. Personality Tikaani's personality is much unknown. Withdrawn most of the time. Tikaani rarely interacts the way most people do. He enjoys mostly staying at home the only time he does go out is on shopping day with his aunt. He has several sensory perception issues. Mostly with sound and smell. He will shriek at unknown noises and will slap his face or mouth at smells that are too strong or unknown. He enjoys to be tickled and squeezed he loves to rough-house with his uncles. He also has obsession with tearing paper or cloth as well as watching water drip and snow fall. Despite appearing not to interact with the world, Tikaani has an incredible memory. He can recite converstations word for word when prompted, he also has perfect pitch and rhythm and can mimic drumming beats. Tikaani is prone to outbursts and meltdowns over change in routines and frustration; he can be agressive when provoked and has been know to bite. In good moods, Tikaani enjoys singing nonsense songs and playing with his tops. He loves sled rides and playing on the ice. He has a phobia of bufflaoyaks since he was a small child. Slowly Tikaani is becoming more and more inquistive of his surroundings and seems to be eager to meet people. Family Father: Tiqtuk Mother: Agna Sister: Liluyue Aunt: Hanai (primary caregiver) Uncles: Amana and Maka Cousins: Elang, Qaniit Rahmet Category:Water Tribe Category:Original Characters